Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse artistic director Gemma Bodinetz made an unplanned stage appearance after stepping in at the last minute for an actor who fell sick at the venue.

Lerner and Loewe’s Paint Your Wagon is currently running at the Everyman, performed by the venue’s rep company.

However, one of the actors fell ill on May 18. After Bodinetz was told at 11am, she appeared on stage at 2pm the same day and also at the evening performance. It marked her stage debut, playing Jake Whippany in the production.

“I was notified that we had a sick actor for a full-company show at 11am on Saturday morning. I was on stage at 2pm in costume performing in the matinee and then again that evening.

“I think ‘rabbit in the headlights’ best describes my experience. But I am so grateful to the actors and technical team who helped me through it and to the audience that got right behind the ‘show must go on’ spirit of the endeavour,” she said.

In 2016, an audience member stood in for a sick cast member at the Royal Exchange in Manchester.

We need your help…

When you subscribe to The Stage, you’re investing in our journalism. And our journalism is invested in supporting theatre and the performing arts.

The Stage is a family business, operated by the same family since we were founded in 1880. We do not receive government funding. We are not owned by a large corporation. Our editorial is not dictated by ticket sales.

We are fully independent, but this means we rely on revenue from readers to survive.

Help us continue to report on great work across the UK, champion new talent and keep up our investigative journalism that holds the powerful to account. Your subscription helps ensure our journalism can continue.

Matt is news editor for The Stage, having started as the newspaper’s broadcast reporter. He covers all areas of the industry in his role, but has a particular interest in musical theatre. Matt studied acting at Bretton Hall and presents a monthly theatre news round up on BBC London Radio.